'Teen Mom' Amber Portwood Ditching Daughter Would Be Good News

Amber Portwood may be the saddest figure to come into the public's eye with the popularity of MTV teen pregnancy series Teen Mom. She's a high school dropout raised under the threat of domestic violence who is repeating the cycle with boyfriend Gary Shirley. She's depressed and reportedly suicidal. But I can't help thinking the saddest part of all is seeing this messed up girl dealing with the weight of the world all alone.

So the news that her brother, Shawn Portwood, is working to get her to move to Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the best bits of "Amber" news I think we've ever heard. Even though it would take the teen mom away from daughter Leah.

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I'll admit it's a sad thing to say. But the fact that Amber currently does not have custody of her child -- and therefore couldn't move Leah to Nashville with her -- is sad in and of itself. Gary has custody because of the mistakes Amber has made and keeps on making.

Each time the two of them move apart and she starts to get her life in order, she falls back into old habits. She and Gary get back together. She and Gary fight, often in front of innocent Leah.

And while Gary has his mom around to bounce things off of, who does Amber have? Her dad who waited until his daughter was famous to suddenly head for the tabloids and allege that Gary had "raped" his daughter ... even though there's no evidence he did a thing to help the girl at the time of her pregnancy? An uncle who pushed Gary to ask for her hand in marriage even as their relationship imploded? Her mom who supports Amber's typical abuser mentality, blaming Gary for causing her daughter to be violent?

In his appearance on the show this month, Shawn proved he's not going to pussyfoot around his sister's problems. He's not going to tell her what she wants to hear about her relationship. And yet, he clearly loves his sister. He's there for her. Amber needs that now. Someone who will give her tough love, but love all the same. It will give her the chance to break the cycle and potentially be a good mom to Leah.

And who knows, a move to Nashville would give her a chance to hang out with fellow Teen Mom Maci Bookout. Maybe she could pick up a few pointers in keeping her cool and putting her child first from the most "together" of the four teens on the series.

Do you think Amber moving away from Leah and Gary for awhile would be good for her?